George Mason Memorial
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| George Mason Memorial | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location: | Washington, D.C., USA |
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| Established: | August 10, 1990 |
| Governing body: | National Park Service |
The George Mason Memorial, located in East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., commemorates the often neglected contributions of an important Founding Father of the United States. George Mason was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Perhaps Mason's greatest act was withholding his signature from the United States Constitution because it did not abolish the slave trade and lacked necessary protection for the individual from the Federal Government. He was sometimes known as "The Reluctant Statesman," which was also the title of a biography written about him by Robert A Rutland.
The memorial was authorized by Public Law 101-358 on August 10, 1990, to be developed by the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall. A site near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was selected. The design features a 72 foot long stone wall with a life-sized statue of a sitting Mason, his legs crossed, and a circular pool. The architect was Faye B. Harwell and the sculptor Wendy M. Ross. After an October 18, 2000 groundbreaking, it was dedicated on April 9, 2002. It is managed by National Mall and Memorial Parks.
[edit] External links
- Official NPS website: George Mason Memorial
- Mason Spirit Article, Winter 2001 (GMU Alumni magazine): George Mason Memorial Garden to Be Built near the National Mall
